Guest Blogging for The Herb Companion Magazine!

My latest post for The Herb Companion magazine is related to one of my favorite herbs, rosemary.  This one happens to be from Spain.  Very envious of rosemaries in tropical places!  You know that one of my passions is jelly especially this time of year.  Wrote about this subject in my blog last year, but it bears repeating.  Here is the link.  Hope you enjoy it!

It's Travel Thursday--Plants I Couldn't Take Home!

I had to give you another glimpse of Spain. We visited this beautiful nursery when we were on the way to lunch one day. I, of course found the herb table right away. It was a wonderful combination of sights and smells. Dianthus were in full bloom. The Spanish lavender grows wild here. It was very tempting in these pots! Of course, the scented geranium leaves are very fragrant! It was sad that I couldn't take any of these beautiful plants home to the 'Burgh!

It's Travel Thursday--An Homage to England and Spain!

The Herbal Husband and I are so lucky to be able to enjoy our lives and travel when we can. I just wanted to give you a final look at our wonderful trip earlier this year. Here we are in Shardlow, Derbyshire, England. We had a fantastic time staying at the Holden House Bed & Breakfast with Angie, Berrie and Monty! And the draw of the Dinky toys in Derby! The future of collecting toys rests with the young boy in the picture. Get them interested at an early age.






























Then there was London, Big Ben at night and tea at the Lanesborough Hotel. Delicious! I also wanted to give a good review for the Luna Simone Hotel where we stayed. It doesn't have air conditioning or an elevator, but it is a family run and very clean hotel. They serve a wonderful full English breakfast and are very near Victoria Station.















Now on to sunny Spain! What can we say. We were treated like royalty. Save your pennies, because Malaga and the surrounding areas are beautiful in any season.
Riogordo and Malaga, two places that we enjoyed visiting. Believe it or not this was the last morning we were in Spain. The weather was sorry to see us go!


























Our friends live in paradise and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for letting us share in their lives. It was an experience we will never forget!

It's Travel Thursday--Cordoba, Spain!

This is the fast train, the Ave, that we took to go to Cordoba at the end of our trip to Spain in March. Below a view out the train window. Since we went into the interior of the country, it was
going to be a warm day! Cordoba is due north of Malaga. It was full of tourists and a very lively city. Known for its patios, Cordoba was very influenced by the Moorish Empire. We also explored the Gardens of the Alcazar. The Cathedral of Cordoba was again influenced by the Islamic and Catholic religions. It was mysterious and beautiful in the same moment! We loved our day in Cordoba!

It's Travel Thursday--Another Mountain Ride

Another travel Thursday has rolling around again and another hopefully wonderful story. Aren't the days just flying by? Well, this is Rafael and his burro. He comes every day from Riogordo to tend his olive trees and returns every night. He starts in the early morning and it takes him until mid-morning to get to his trees. He stops to talk with his friends along the way. My friend introduced me to Rafael and we shook hands. I will never forget his handshake. Very strong. Mountain people are a very special people no matter where in the world you might be. I know you are anxious to know what Rafael makes.
Here it is. A beautiful basket made of olive branches. We like to keep fruit in it. It is a beautiful memory of our trip to Spain! Thanks to our friends!

It's Travel Friday--A Mountain Ride!

I completely forgot about Travel Thursday yesterday! I was so intoxicated by the strawberries! Well, we must get back to Spain because our trip there was so wonderful! After lunch one afternoon, my friend took me over the mountain to see the views! Here are some of them.
This region is known for almond and olive trees, but also Spanish oak trees like the one above. We then came across a shepard and his flock. As you can see we were interrupting their lunch! The shepard had to come and herd them away from the road.
Being the wife of an architect, we are always looking at buildings. I was looking even before I married him (at buildings that is)! This one just was so impressive because it had been there for centuries and was in good shape.A perfect way to end a mountain ride is with a beautiful mountain sunset and dinner waiting at home!

It's Travel Thursday--La Concepcion Botanical Garden

We spent a beautiful afternoon in La Concepcion Botanical Garden outside Malaga. The entrance plaque and other plaques throughout the garden were Spanish tile which I loved.
The gardens had beautiful views like these. Pictures are worth thousands of words! Hope you enjoy it.

It's Travel Thursday---Ole! Ole! It's Malaga, Spain!

I want to backtrack and talk about our wonderful trip to Spain. Again we went to the Costa del Sol and Malaga, Spain. Here are the flower vendors that are very popular in Spain and other places in Europe.


We even found a vendor who was selling HERBS!
You can walk everywhere. There are many pedestrian walkways and again are beautifully immaculate!






























Even the churros and chocolate are delicious on a warm day!













The beach, sea and sunset at 50 mph! Beautiful Spain! Hope you enjoyed a taste of a fantastic area!

It's Travel Thursday--Food of Spain and Peru too!

We ate very well while we were in Spain. Bacalao (salted cod) with olive oil, tomato on toasted bread at a local restaurant in Riogordo.
Vegetable tortilla at a restaurant called El Chinitas in Malaga.

The Herbal Husband cooked carapulca with his famous rice. Memories of Peru for our host.









My favorite was paella at the Parador de Nerja. It is a beautiful resort by the Mediterranean Sea. I handled the lobster quite well. It was delish! All of the food we had was spectacular! The view was breathtaking!

It's Travel Thursday--Off to Spain!

This is our friends' home outside Malaga on the Costa del Sol. The Herbal Husband's classmate from 50 years ago lives with his wife and their three dogs and enjoys life! It is a beautiful place with almond and olive trees, and we really understand why they came here to live. The views are breathtaking! You will see the one behind this curtain later today! Waking up to the view below was a fabulous bonus! The Herbal Husband and I are very lucky people and we enjoyed that view each and every day were we with our friends! I hope you look forward to my next travel post.